They've seen him do it all at practice, watched him run for 304 yards and three touchdowns against Lehigh in Yankee Stadium, saw him accelerate away from that Oregon defensive back at the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.

Pro football scouts have mentioned Ross Scheuerman's name in draft discussions for months. The time for action is coming.

And still, Lafayette's all-time, all-purpose running back-receiver-kick returner has no clue what to expect when the teams start calling out names this week.

"My agent has been talking to a lot of scouts, trying to get a feel for where I might end up," the 6-0, 204-pound Scheuerman said Monday. "But it's still too hard to tell."

One thing is certain: He is not off the radar of people in the sport. In fact, the NFL Players Association, which sponsored the Collegiate Bowl in which Scheuerman made a good impression, has invited him to Chicago for its Rookie Debut.

He will fly to Chicago on Tuesday morning and be in the Windy City until Thursday. He said 40 or 50 players will be treated to a number of special events, a dinner and a ceremony. He is thrilled to be part of the NFLPA event and is headed into this week's NFL Draft with a positive attitude, but, he added, "I'm trying not to get my hopes too high. Nothing is ever exact. I could end up going in the late rounds; there's a chance. If not, I'll still be on a team somewhere [as a free agent]. That's all I can ask for."

Scheuerman recently received a good scouting report from Jon Gruden, the former NFL head coach who is now the analyst on ESPN's coverage of "Monday Night Football."

"I like him; I hope my brother [Jay, head coach of the Washington Redskins] gets him," Gruden said of Scheuerman.

"I don't care about the round. He's got to be in a system where they accentuate his receiver skills, put him in the return game, make him a Jack of all trades — slot, motion, get him in space and good things will happen. Don't just line him up and treat him like any other running back. [More like Darren Sproles or Reggie Bush]; not that he has that type of explosive talent but he's pretty darn good. I know he can be reliable, and do a lot of things for the team."

On the NFL's website, the four-time Patriot League all-star — three times on the second team and a first-team selection in 2014 — is given a 5.07 rating, which equates to a "better-than-average chance to make [an] NFL roster."

In its bottom line assessment, the website projects him as a "priority free agent" who is said to be a "difficult projection due to running-lane limitations with below-average blocking in front of him. Appears to have decent top-end speed to go with legitimate twitch and could get a look as a slot receiver, similar to the move the Patriots' Julian Edelman made out of Kent State."

Another website, nfldraftscout.com, comes right out and lists Scheuerman as a wide receiver. It has him as the No. 54 wide receiver among 351 available.

And on draftbreakdown.com, Justin Higdon lists him as a "hidden gem" and says, "His speed and agility are above average for his sturdy frame, but he doesn't have the explosiveness to warrant an early Day Three draft pick. Still, Scheuerman's versatility and special teams experience should be enough to earn him a roster spot while he learns the finer points of being an NFL receiver."

Scheuerman has no illusions about himself, admitting he's not a bruising, every-down tailback. That is echoed by others who have evaluated him.

The main "cons" that show up on various websites are that he is "not able to create his own yards and will have to get the ball in space to be effective" or that he "can get 'bounce happy' and will look to take runs outside that could stay inside" or that he "isn't overly physical as a runner."

That need not be all bad, however. Putting Scheuerman into the same sentence with the New England's Edelman is not a bad thing. In his first four seasons in the NFL, Edelman caught 69 passes — only four in one season, seven in another. But suddenly in 2013, he caught 105 regular-season passes and followed that up with 92 in 2014. Edelman is 5-10, 200 pounds and also returns punts.

Punt returns gave Scheuerman 715 yards in his freshman season, but even though he led the Leopards in rushing that year with 499 yards, it wasn't until the final two years that he became the premier running back, gaining 2,314 yards and scoring 26 touchdowns.

He finished his career with 3,504 rushing yards and 1,129 yards in pass receptions.

He had a 50-yard "touchdown" on a screen pass in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, and even though the play was called back because of a holding penalty, there was no holding back the fact that Scheuerman had made his mark as a runner with top-end speed.

At the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, he was among the top five running backs in the 20-yard shuttle and the 60-yard shuttle, but his 4.63 40-yard dash was underwhelming. So, at Lafayette's pro day later — and in snow — he ran 4.45, which may have been the redeeming performance the pro scouts needed.

He had touchdowns runs of 78 and 69 yards in his sophomore season, a 69-yarder as a junior and a 72-yarder in Yankee Stadium as the biggest moment in his record-setting final day as a Leopard. He had kickoff-return touchdowns of 78 yards as a freshman and 90 yards as a senior. He was seldom used as a returner as a senior to keep him fresh as a runner, but that could change now. Special teams could be his meal ticket after this week.

Scheuerman plans to watch the draft from his home in Cream Ridge, N.J. But rest assured that when the time comes, he'll celebrate. He's earned it.